TOUR REPORT — 2017 WGC-Dell Match Play

The No. 1 golfer in the World arrived in Austin for the WGC-Dell Match Play without his 5-wood. Earlier this year, DJ had a 2017 M1 5-wood built out to his specs, but lately he has preferred to keep a 2-iron UDI (Ultimate Driving Iron) in the bag for tight tee shots and short par 4s.

Unlike most golfers, the extreme length that Dustin Johnson puts on display each week frees him up to take a fairway wood—or even an iron—off the tee without losing much (if any) distance to the field. With this week’s match play format, the versatility of his UDI and the power of his M1 driver will deliver a dynamic duo of weapons off the tee, depending on how aggressive DJ plans on attacking each hole.

Here’s a look at DJ’s full-swing distance averages to get an overview of his gapping.

Take note of the similar distances between his 5-wood and UDI to see how they can be interchangeable tools from week to week, depending on course and weather conditions:

M1 Driver: 312 yards

M1 3-wood: 282 yards

M1 5-wood: 267 yards

2 iron UDI: 261 yards

4 iron: 236 yards

5 iron: 225 yards

6 iron: 212 yards

7 iron: 200 yards

8 iron: 186 yards

9 iron: 172 yards

PW: 158 yards

As some of you may be thinking, these averages don’t tell the full story as DJ can ramp up his driver to 340+ yards, but these numbers are purely based on averages. Additionally, his M1 3-wood can eclipse 300 yards off the tee with ease. With that type of length, it’s rare to have 270 yards into a green, so a 5-wood doesn’t see much action.

Dustin’s M1 5-wood now takes backseat to his 2 iron. This gives DJ an arsenal of 3 primary clubs to use off the tee: his 2017 M1 driver for maximum distance, his M1 3-wood for controlled distance, and his UDI for an optimal fairway finder.

We asked DJ this week if he expects any changes to his bag before Augusta, to which he replied, “If it ain’t broke…”

However, he still dials in his 5-wood each year so he can put it in his bag to take on shorter courses, specifically mentioning Colonial and Valhalla. “Those aren’t courses where you can chase it around with driver. You want all carry and no roll there.”

TaylorMade’s advancements in metalwood technology have changed the game considerably. With industry leading distance and forgiveness technologies and DJ’s incredible athleticism, he consistently mashes fairway clubs off the tee. As a result, he then aligns the rest of his bag to attack golf courses from inside 150 yards—a luxury of being one of the longest hitters in the game.

Not everyone is DJ, though. That’s why we made two lines of metalwoods, M1 and M2, offering all golfers a complete spectrum of performance capabilities to fit the game of a variety swings and skill levels. M1 delivers fine-tuned playability, workability, and personalization and M2 provides fixed technology that maximizes distance and forgiveness.

If you have any questions about which is right for you, reach out to @TaylorMadeGolf on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, or leave a comment to this thread.

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About TaylorMade Golf Company

Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, TaylorMade Golf is a leading manufacturer of high performance golf equipment with industry-leading innovative products like M1 and M2 metalwoods, M1 and M2 irons and TP5/TP5X golf balls. TaylorMade is also a major force on the PGA TOUR with one of the strongest athlete portfolios in golf, that includes world no.1 Dustin Johnson and five of the current Top 15 in the world.